Strip brush

ABSTRACT

A strip brush ( 10 ) includes a plurality of elongate bristles ( 12 ) and a spine formation ( 14 ), the bristles having first and second free ends ( 16 ) and being gripped by the spine formation ( 20 ) between said ends. The spine formation includes a length of material having first and second spaced folds and the plurality of bristles are trapped between the folds such that the first and second folds define opposing ends of said spine formation. The spine formation is formed of a single sheet of planar material which is folded and/or otherwise deformed into the required profile.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.K. Application No. GB0722694.7,filed 20 Nov. 2007, by the same inventor, the entire contents of whichhereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to strip brushes.

Strip brushes generally comprise an elongate spine member, within whicha plurality of bristles are held such that a free end of each bristledepends therefrom.

Such strip brushes are conventionally manufactured in a continuousproduction flow in which a length of spine material is deformed so as totrap bristles therein. The resulting lengths of strip brush are then cutto the desired length and crimped at each end to form discrete brushes.The substantially rigid spine allows attachment of the brushes tomachinery or manual tools.

The strip brushes produced by this method of manufacture are used for abroad variety of applications across different industries. Numerousapplications provide for the use of this form of brush as a sealingmember, for attachment to moving machinery. The plurality of tightlypacked bristles form a mechanical barrier which substantially inhibitsthe flow of particulate and/or fluid materials therethrough, dependenton the bristle arrangement and material.

In one example, polymer bristles may be provided so as to provide ahygienic seal for use in food handling or processing machinery. Inanother example, the bristles may be formed of metallic strands. Such anarrangement finds one application in the oil and gas industry for use asa mechanical seal for machinery in pipelines. Regardless of the industryrequirements, the strip brushes are manufactured in substantially thesame manner, such that lengths of strip brush are cut to the requireddimensions for the application at hand.

During use, the free ends of the bristles are typically maintained incontact with an adjacent surface. This causes a contact force such thatthe bristles can bend or flex in response thereto to maintain therequired seal or brushing effect. However, it has been found that theapplication of contact forces and/or vibrations to the strip brushduring use can result in a number of bristles towards the peripheraledges of the strip brush becoming loose and shedding from the ends ofthe brush.

The shedding of bristles in this manner causes a problem since they canenter the flow of material through the machinery or the moving parts ofthe machinery itself. When one considers the use of the strip brushes onfood handling equipment or else within fuel pipelines, it will beappreciated that the entrainment of loose bristles into the materialbeing processed is a significant disadvantage which can lead toprocessed materials being rejected or machine down time.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved stripbrush for which the problem of shedding bristles is alleviated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided astrip brush comprising a plurality of elongate bristles and a spineformation, the bristles having first and second free ends and beinggripped by the spine formation between said ends, wherein the spineformation comprises a length of material having first and second spacedfolds and the plurality of bristles are trapped between said folds suchthat the first and second folds define opposing ends of said spineformation, and wherein the spine formation of formed of a single sheetof planar material which is folded and/or otherwise deformed into therequired profile.

The present invention allows for continuous folded ends of the stripbrush in contrast to the discontinuity formed by cut and crimped brushends. The folded ends of the strip brush are particularly advantageoussince the bristles cannot be worked free of the ends during use. Thusthe spine forms a loop about the plurality of bristles, trapping thebristles within the spine during use.

In one embodiment, the first and second folds are substantially parallelwith the bristles. The length of spine material may comprise a spinemember which may be elongate in shape. The spine member may have alongitudinal axis and the spine member may be folded about first andsecond axes or fold lines which are substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis so as to form the first and second folds.

The spine member may have opposing edges which meet or overlap part wayalong the length of the strip brush once formed. The spine formation maytherefore comprise a single discontinuity part-way along the length ofthe spine member rather than at the ends of the brush once formed.

The spine member may be shaped to provide a first and second opposingwall portions extending between said folds with the bristles disposedtherebetween.

In one embodiment the spine formation is shaped in the form of a trenchor channel within which the bristles are held. The first wall portion ofthe spine member may comprise an outer wall of the channel and thesecond wall portion may comprise an inner wall of the channel. Thechannel typically has a base and opposing side walls which define anelongate slot or opening through which the bristles protrude. Thechannel may be substantially U-shaped in section. The opening may be ofsmaller width dimension than the base of the channel.

The bristles are typically bent or otherwise deformed within the spine.

The spine member may be formed of a strip of material of substantiallyuniform width which is folded or otherwise formed into the requiredshape. Alternatively, the spine member may have a first section whichforms the first wall portion which is of greater width than one or morefurther portions which form the second wall portion.

In one embodiment, a spine support member is provided. The spine supportmember may take the form of an outer wall member shaped to surround thespine formation. The spine support member is typically of greaterstrength and or stiffness than the spine formation material and may beshaped to provide for attachment of the strip brush to machinery foruse.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention there isprovided a method of manufacture of a strip brush comprising: arranginga plurality of bristles relative to a spine member, formed of a singlesheet of planar material, such that first and second ends of thebristles protrude outwardly from the spine member; and providing firstand second spaced folds in the spine member such that the spine membersurrounds said bristles at a location between said first and secondbristle ends wherein said first and second folds define opposing ends ofthe spine member.

The spine member may comprise a length of material having opposing firstand second edges, wherein the edges meet or overlap when the first andsecond folds are provided.

The first and second folds may be positioned so as to provide a stripbrush of predetermined length without the need for cutting the brush tosize.

In one embodiment, the spine member is further folded or deformed in anorientation substantially perpendicular to the first and/or secondfolds. The third fold or deformation may be substantially along thelength of the spine. The spine member may be deformed such that it issubstantially channel shaped in section. The cross-sectional shape ofthe spine once formed may be substantially V-shaped or U-shaped orrounded in the form of a partial ellipse or a horseshoe shape.

Further preferable features of the present invention are defined withinthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more specific embodiments of the present invention are describedin further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a strip brush according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a spine member for use in the manufacture ofa strip brush according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the spine member of FIG. 2 duringmanufacture of a strip brush according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the spine and bristles when arranged formanufacture of a strip brush according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows an above view of the spine after formation of the stripbrush;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a strip brush according to afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a spine member for use in the manufacture ofa strip brush according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention; and,

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a strip brush according to thepresent invention having the spine member of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning firstly to FIG. 1, there is shown a strip brush 10 according tothe present invention in section. The brush 10 generally comprises aplurality of bristles 12 protruding from a spine formation 14.

The bristles 12 are elongate in shape and have free ends 16 spaced fromthe spine formation 14. The spine formation comprises an inner 18 andouter 20 wall formed of a single piece of resilient material as will bedescribed below. The outer wall 20 is substantially U-shaped orhorseshoe shaped in section so as to form a channel or gulley withinwhich the bristles 12 are located.

The inner wall 18 is positioned within the outer wall 20 and iscorrespondingly shaped. The inner wall 18 is substantially concentricwithin the outer wall 20 with the bristles trapped therebetween. It willbe appreciated that the channel formed by the outer wall 20 is ofslightly greater width than the inner wall such that it can accommodatethe inner wall and the bristles therein. The channel of the outer wall20 has an opening 22 which is elongate in form when viewed from aboveand through which the bristles extend.

A mid portion 17 of the bristles 12 is held tightly in the spineformation 14 between the inner 18 and outer 20 walls. In this embodimentthe mid portion 17 is substantially equidistant from each end 16 of thebristles 12 such that each free end 16 of the bristles extends tosubstantially the same distance form the spine formation 20. Theembodiment of FIG. 1 is thus substantially symmetrical about centerlineor axis 26.

However, it will be appreciated that the bristles may be held within thespine formation 14 at any point between the opposing ends of the bristleand need not be held about their mid point 28. The plurality of bristles12 may be considered to be a collection or else a semi-ordered array inwhich the orientation of each bristle is substantially fixed, althoughthe exact position of each bristle is subject to change dependent on theinteraction between bristles during manufacture. The collection ofbristles typically has a width dimension which is greater than its depthand, more typically, the collection has a width dimension (whichcorresponds to the length of the strip brush) which is an order ofmagnitude or more greater than the depth.

It will also be appreciated that, whilst the channel shape of the spineformation is formed by bending of the inner and outer walls at a pair oflocations equidistant from the axis 26, a single bend could be providedor else two or more bends or folds which are not symmetrical about theaxis 26.

The trapped section 17 of the bristles 12 is deformed within the outerwall 20 about the inner wall 18 such that it conforms substantially tothe shape of the channel.

In use the spine formation provides a substantially rigid portion of thebrush which can be use to attach the brush 10 to machinery or the like.

The spine formation 14 is formed of a resiliently deformable material,which is typically a metal such as mild steel. Other materials can beused dependent on the brush specifications.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 to 6, there is shown the strip brush componentsduring various stages of manufacture. In FIG. 2, a generally rectangularsheet 30 of metal spine material is provided. For most applications, anelongate form of planar spine material 30 is provided in order toproduce an elongate strip brush. However, shorter strip brushes are alsopossible in which the length of the brush is closer to the width orheight dimension.

A plurality of bristles 12 (see FIG. 4) are laid laterally across thespine material 30 such that the free ends 16A and 16B protrude beyondthe perimeter of the sheet material 30. In this embodiment the bristlesare arranged such that they are substantially perpendicular to alongitudinal axis 32 of the spine material 30. The bristles are arrangedsubstantially across a middle portion of the spine material 30 betweenfold lines 34 and 36 such that the outer sections 38 and 40 of the spinematerial are exposed.

The spine material 30 is deformed about spaced fold lines 34 and 36 soas to produce folds 35 and 37, resulting in the profile shown in FIG. 3.It will be appreciated that the bristles 12 will thus be trapped withinthe interior 42 of the partially formed spine. However, the bristles 12are omitted from FIG. 3 for clarity.

The folds 35 and 37 are spaced by a distance A which defines the lengthof the spine formation 14. The outer regions 38 and 40 are folded overin the form of flaps which are folded back upon the central portionsubstantially about 180°. The length A and the length of the outerregions 38 and 40 are selected such that the formed flaps overlap whenfolded flat as shown in FIG. 3 so as to form an complete enclosurearound the inner space 42. The inner space is generally elongate in formalthough its width may vary dependent on the depth of bristles to beheld therein.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 3, complete withbristles 12. A further pair of fold lines 44 and 46 are shown in FIG. 4.These fold lines are generally parallel with the longitudinal axis 32 ofthe spine material 30. In order to produce the sectional shape shown inFIG. 1, the spine material is folded about fold lines 44 and 46 by 90°or more such that, when viewed from above the spine formation appears asshown in FIG. 5.

In one embodiment the spine material may be folded by approximately 95°or else until the opposing edges of the inner wall 18 touch. Inalternative embodiments, the spine material may be longitudinally foldedby less than 90° so as to form an open channel or V-shaped section.

The folding of the spine material in this manner causes the bristles tobe bent back upon themselves such that the free ends 16A and 16Bprotrude from the spine formation 14 in substantially the samedirection. Whilst two longitudinal folds 44 and 46 are preferably use toachieve this effect, a single longitudinal fold of approximately 180°may also be used. A single or a plurality of folds may also be tailoredto deform the spine material about a curved sectional shaped such thatit is rounded in section. All such embodiments are intended to fallwithin the scope intended by the terms “fold,” “folded,” or “folding.”

It will be appreciated that the inner 18 and outer walls 20 of the spineformation in FIG. 1 are formed by folding of the planar spine material30 to the required shape.

The folds of FIGS. 2-5 are typically achieved by mechanical pressingmachinery as will be understood by a person skilled in the art. However,the machine settings and angular degree of pressing may be calibrated tosuit the required strip brush profile. In addition bespoke dies may beprovided, against which the spine material can be pressed in order toachieve the required sectional shape.

The support formation 48 provides additional strength and rigidity tothe spine of the brush and may be provided with a particular profile inorder to be fixable within a correspondingly shaped slot on a machine.In one embodiment, the shaping of the spine in this manner allows simplefixation of the strip brush to a machine or device for use without theneed for additional fixing means. However, it will be appreciated thatconventional fixing means may also be provided.

In FIG. 6, the support formation has a neck region 50 of smallerdimensions that the body portion 52 in which the spine formation 14 isenclosed. The dimensions of the neck region 50 may be tailored to gripthe spine formation 14 and/or bristles 12. The dimension of the neck canalso be tailored to control the spread of the bristles 12. In thisembodiment, a relatively weak spine formation 14 can be provided simplyto hold the bristles within the spine, whilst the structural strengthand sectional shape of the spine can be accommodated by the supportmember 48. The separation of these design features allows improvedtailoring and flexibility of the strip brush design to meet particularbespoke applications.

The support member 48 may have straight or angled sides or else may bebulbous or rounded in section as shown in FIG. 6.

The spine support 48 may be preformed into an open tubular arrangementas shown in FIG. 6 and the spine formation 14 may be insertedlongitudinally therein. Alternatively, the spine support material may bedeformed about the spine formation 14 during manufacture, for example bycrimping pressing machinery. Alternatively, the spine support may bedeformed in a continuous or flow like manner by deforming elements as alength of support material is fed through machinery by conveying means.Thus, the support formation can be formed and cut in a manner similar tothat of conventional strip brushes without the drawback that bristlescan be worked free of the brush once formed.

Turning now to FIGS. 7 and 8, an alternative spine formation is shown tothat of FIG. 1. The embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 may be used either withor without a spine support formation.

FIG. 7 shows a spine material 54 which folded in a manner similar tospine material 30. Indeed the end view of the spine material shown inFIG. 7 would match the profile shown in FIG. 3. The difference betweenthe spine material 54 of FIG. 7 and the spine material 30 of FIG. 3 isthe starting shape of the blank material.

The spine material 54 has a central region 56 and outer regions 58 and60 which are folded about folds 62 and 64 to form overlapping flaps.However, the outer regions or flaps 58 and 60 in FIG. 7 are of reducedwidth dimension compared to the central region 56. Thus when the spinematerial 54 is folded about longitudinal fold lines in a manner similarto that described in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5, the sectional profileshown in FIG. 8 is formed.

The spine formation 66 of FIG. 8 thus has an outer wall 68 formed of thecentral region 56 of spine material 54 which is similar to the outerwall 20 of FIG. 1. However, the inner wall 70 in FIG. 8 is smaller indimension and comprises a base section only without inner side walls.This embodiment has the benefit over the embodiment of FIG. 1 thatgreater internal space is available within the spine for accommodationof the bristles 12. This can allow an increased number of bristles 12 tobe accommodated or else can allow the longitudinal folds to be achievedwith less internal resistance.

Other features of the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 are equivalent tothose described above in relation to FIGS. 1 to 5 and areinterchangeable as far as practicably possible.

Any or all fold lines described above need not be marked or otherwiseindicated on the spine material 30. Alternatively any or all fold linesmay comprise marked lines of predetermined spacing or else may beembodied by physical features on the spine material such as by way ofindents, lines of weakness, sections of increased thickness or the like.

1. A strip brush comprising: a plurality of elongate bristles and aspine formation; the bristles having first and second free ends andbeing gripped by the spine formation between said ends; wherein thespine formation includes a length of material having first and secondspaced folds and the plurality of bristles are trapped between the foldssuch that the first and second folds define opposing ends of the spineformation; and wherein the spine formation of formed of a single sheetof planar material which is folded and deformed into a required profile.2. A strip brush according to claim 1, wherein the spine material formsa closed loop about the plurality of bristles, trapping the bristleswithin the spine formation during use.
 3. A strip brush according toclaim 1, wherein the length of material has opposing ends which meet oroverlap part way along the length of the strip brush once formed
 4. Astrip brush according to claim 1, wherein the first and second folds aresubstantially parallel with the bristles.
 5. A strip brush according toclaim 1, wherein the spine formation has a longitudinal axis and thefirst and second folds are substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis.
 6. A strip brush according to claim 1, wherein thespine formation includes opposing side walls extending between thefolded ends and arranged to trap the bristles therebetween.
 7. A stripbrush according to claim 1, wherein the spine formation is in the formof an elongate channel.
 8. A strip brush according to claim 7, whereinthe channel is substantially U-shaped in section.
 9. A strip brushaccording to claim 7, wherein the spine formation is shaped to providean outer wall of the channel and an inner wall of the channel, whereinthe bristles are trapped between the inner and outer walls.
 10. A stripbrush according to claim 1, wherein the spine formation comprises arectangular sheet of planar material.
 11. A strip brush according toclaim 1, wherein the spine formation comprises a sheet material having acentral portion and outer portions protruding from opposing sides of thecentral portion, the outer portions being arranged to be folded inwardupon formation of the strip brush.
 12. A strip brush according to claim11, wherein the central portion has a width dimension which is greaterthan the width of the outer portions.
 13. A strip brush according toclaim 1, wherein the bristles are held in a deformed configurationwithin the spine formation.
 14. A strip brush according to claim 13,wherein the bristles are deformed substantially about 180° within thespine formation.
 15. A strip brush according to any claim 1, comprisinga spine support member.
 16. A strip brush according to claim 15, whereinthe spine support member takes the form of an outer wall member shapedto surround the spine formation.
 17. A strip brush according to claim15, wherein the spine formation comprises a body portion and a neckportion of reduced dimension so as to retain the spine formation withinthe body portion.
 18. A method of manufacture of a strip brush,comprising: arranging a plurality of bristles relative to a spine memberformed of a single sheet of planar material such that first and secondends of the bristles protrude outwardly from the spine member; andproviding first and second spaced folds in the spine member such thatthe spine member surrounds the bristles at a location between the firstand second bristle ends wherein the first and second folds defineopposing ends of the spine member.
 19. The method of claim 18, whereinthe spine member comprises a length of material having opposing firstand second ends, wherein the edges meet or overlap part way along thelength of the spine formation when the first and second folds areprovided.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the spine member isfurther folded or deformed in an orientation substantially perpendicularto the first and/or second folds.
 21. The method of claim 20, whereinthe further fold is oriented substantially along the length of the spineso as to produce a channel-shaped spine formation.